[Adopted as Secs. 7-1 through 7-11 of the
1982 Revised General Ordinances]
The following words and terms shall have the
meanings herein indicated for the purposes of this article:
Any dog, bitch or spayed bitch.
Any dog which has attained the age of seven months or which
possesses a set of permanent teeth.
Any person exercising control over a dog or permitting a
dog to remain on premises under his control.
A building or structure used for the purpose of boarding,
raising, breeding, training or otherwise dealing with dogs, except
that this definition shall not include a pet shop operated for the
sale of pets, their equipment and supplies, or buildings or structures
used solely for the housing of a dog or dogs owned by the occupant
of the property and kept as a pet or pets.
When applied to the proprietorship of a dog, includes every
person having a right of property in such dog and every person who
has such dog in his keeping.
Any dog which has been declared by a Municipal Judge to be
a vicious dog, which has attacked or bitten any human being, or which
habitually attacks other dogs or domestic animals.
A.
License, when required. Licenses shall be required
for the following dogs of licensing age:
(1)
Any dog owned or kept within the Borough by a resident
of the Borough on January 1 of any calendar year.
(2)
Any dog acquired by any person during the course of
any calendar year and kept within the Borough for more than 10 days
after acquisition.
(3)
Any dog attaining licensing age during the course
of the calendar year.
(4)
Any unlicensed dog brought into the Borough by any
person and kept within the Borough for more than 10 days.
(5)
Any dog licensed by another state brought into the
Borough by any person and kept within the Borough for more than 90
days.
B.
C.
Application for license, when made. Applications for licenses for dogs which are required to be licensed by the provisions of Subsection A(1) shall be made before February 1 of each calendar year. In all other cases, the application for a license shall be made within 10 days of the day upon which the dog in question first becomes subject to the provisions of this article.
D.
License records. The information on all applications
under this section and the registration number issued to each licensed
dog shall be preserved for a period of three years by the Borough
Clerk. In addition, he shall forward similar information to the State
Department of Health and Senior Services each month on forms furnished
by the Department.[1]
E.
Fees. The person applying for a license shall pay
a fee of $3 for each dog. He shall also pay $1 for the registration
tag for each dog. The same fees shall be charged for the annual renewal
of each license and registration tag.
F.
Expiration date. Each dog license and registration
tag shall expire on January 31 of the calendar year following the
calendar year in which it was issued.
G.
Exceptions. Dogs used as guides for blind persons
and commonly known as "Seeing Eye" dogs, dogs used to assist handicapped
persons and commonly known as "service dogs," or dogs used to assist
deaf persons and commonly known as "hearing ear" dogs shall be licensed
and registered as other dogs hereinabove provided for, except that
the owner or keeper of such dog shall not be required to pay any fee
therefor.[2]
A.
License fees and other moneys collected or received
under the provisions of this article, except the registration tag
fees, shall be forwarded to the Borough Chief Financial Officer within
30 days after collection or receipt, and shall be placed in a special
account separate from any of the other accounts of the Borough and
shall be used for the following purposes only: collecting, keeping
and disposing of dogs liable to seizure under this article; local
prevention and control of rabies; providing anti-rabies treatment
under the direction of the local Board of Health for any person known
or suspected to have been exposed to rabies; all other purposes prescribed
by the statutes of New Jersey governing the subject; and for administering
the provisions of this article. Any unexpended balance remaining in
such special account shall be retained therein until the end of the
third fiscal year following and may be used for any of the purposes
set forth in this section. At the end of the third fiscal year following,
and at the end of each fiscal year thereafter, there shall be transferred
from such special account to the general funds of the Borough any
amount then in such account which is in excess of the total amount
paid into the special account during the last two fiscal years next
preceding.
B.
The registration tag fee of $1 for each dog shall
be forwarded within 30 days after collection by the Clerk to the State
Department of Health and Senior Services.
The Chief of Police of the Borough shall annually
cause a canvass to be made of all dogs owned, kept or harbored within
the limits of the Borough and shall report to the Clerk, the Board
of Health and to the State Department of Health and Senior Services
the results thereof, setting forth in separate columns the names and
addresses of persons owning, keeping or harboring dogs; the number
of licensed dogs owned, kept or harbored by each person, together
with the registration number of each dog; the number of unlicensed
dogs owned, kept or harbored by each person, together with a complete
description of each unlicensed dog.
A.
Complaint; investigation; report. It shall be the duty of the Police Department and the Animal Control Officer to retrieve and investigate complaints against dogs. If they deem any dog complained of to be a vicious dog, as defined in § 147-1, they shall report their findings in writing to the Municipal Judge.[1]
B.
Notice; hearing.
(1)
The Municipal Judge shall notify in writing the owner
or keeper of an allegedly vicious dog that a complaint has been made
and require such person to appear before him at a stated time and
place for a hearing.
(2)
The Judge shall conduct the hearing in the same manner
as he would conduct the trial of a criminal case. If the Judge decides
that the dog complained of is a vicious dog, he shall so notify the
owner or keeper of the dog.
C.
Control of vicious dogs. No person owning or keeping
a dog which has been determined to be a vicious dog shall permit such
dog to be off the property of the owner or keeper without being securely
muzzled.
A.
Causes for impounding. The Animal Control Officer
shall take into custody and impound, or cause to be taken into custody
and impounded, any of the following dogs:
[Amended 3-7-2006 by Ord. No. 1251]
(1)
Any unlicensed dog running at large in violation of
the provisions of this article.
(2)
Any dog off the premises of the owner of or the person
keeping or harboring such dog which the Animal Control Officer or
his agent has reason to believe is a stray dog.
(3)
Any dog off the premises of the owner of or the person
keeping or harboring such dog without a current registration tag on
its collar.
(4)
Any female dog in season off the premises of the owner
of or the person keeping or harboring such dog.
B.
Access to premises. Any officer or agent authorized
or empowered to perform any duty under this article is hereby authorized
to go upon any premises to seize for impounding any dog which he may
lawfully seize and impound when such officer is in immediate pursuit
of such dog, except upon the premises of the owner of the dog if the
owner is present and forbids same.
C.
Notice of seizure.
(1)
If any dog so impounded or seized wears a registration
tag, collar or harness having inscribed thereon or attached thereto
the address of any person or the owner of, or the person keeping or
harboring the dogs is known, the Animal Control Officer shall immediately
serve on the person whose address is given on the collar, or on the
person owning, keeping or harboring the dog, a notice in writing stating
that the dog has been seized and will be liable to be disposed of
or destroyed if not claimed within seven days after service of the
notice.
[Amended 3-7-2006 by Ord. No. 1251]
(2)
A notice under this subsection may be served either
by delivering it to the person on whom it is to be served, or by leaving
it at the person's usual or last known place of abode, or at the address
given on the collar, or by forwarding it by mail in a prepaid letter
addressed to that person at his usual or last known place of abode,
or to the address given on the collar.
D.
Disposition of unclaimed dogs. The Animal Control
Officer is authorized and empowered to cause the destruction of any
unclaimed dog in as humane a manner as possible under any of the following
contingencies:
[Amended 3-7-2006 by Ord. No. 1251]
(1)
When any dog so seized has not been claimed by the
person owning, keeping or harboring such dog within seven days after
notice or within seven days of the dog's detention when notice has
not been or cannot be given as set forth in the previous subsection.
(2)
If the person owning, keeping or harboring any dog
so seized has not claimed the dog and has not paid all expenses incurred
by reason of its detention, including maintenance, not to exceed $5
for the first day, and $1 per day for each additional day.
(3)
If the seized dog is unlicensed at the time of its
seizure and the person owning, keeping or harboring such dog has not
produced a license and registration tag as provided in this article.
No person shall own, keep or harbor a dog in
the Borough except in compliance with the provisions of this article
and the following regulations:
A.
Wearing of registration. All dogs for which licenses
are required by the provisions of this article to be licensed shall
wear a collar or harness with the registration tag for such dog securely
fastened thereto.
B.
Use of registration tags. No person, except an officer
in the performance of his duties, shall remove a registration tag
from the collar of any dog without the consent of the owner, nor shall
any person attach a registration tag to a dog for which it was not
issued.
C.
Interference with official duties. No person shall
hinder, molest or interfere with anyone authorized or empowered to
perform any duty under this article.
D.
Disturbing the peace. The constant or intermittent
barking, loud whining, or other objectionable noises caused by any
dog or other animal, whether on or off the owner's premises, is hereby
declared to be unlawful and constitutes disturbing the peace.
E.
Running at large. No person owning, keeping or harboring
any dog shall suffer or permit it to run at large upon the public
streets or in any public park, public building or other public place
within the Borough.
F.
Leashing. No person owning, keeping or harboring any
dog shall suffer or permit it to be upon the public streets or in
any of the public places of the Borough unless such dog is accompanied
by a person over the age of 12 years and is securely confined and
controlled by an adequate leash which may be a retractable leash up
to 15 feet in length or a fixed leash not more than six feet long.
[Amended 8-9-2008 by Ord. No. 1320]
G.
Property damage. No person owning, keeping or harboring
a dog shall permit or suffer it to do any injury, or to do any damage
to any lawn, shrubbery, flowers, grounds or property.
H.
Animals prohibited in and upon public building structures
and beaches.
(1)
No dog or other animal shall be permitted to run free
in or upon any public property in the Borough of Stone Harbor. No
dogs or other domesticated animals shall be permitted, at any time,
whether under leash or running free, in the area south of the 127th
Street jetty to Hereford Inlet.
[Amended 6-17-2008 by Ord. No. 1316]
(2)
No dog or other animal shall be permitted in or upon
any public building or upon any public platform, pavilion, beach stand,
beach guard equipment, boat or upon any other public structure, or
any part thereof, at any time, except for Seeing Eye dogs working
with their owners or masters.
(3)
Dogs and other animals, under leash, shall be permitted
upon the public sidewalks, public streets and public parking lots
at any time. Additionally, dogs and other animals, under leash, shall
be permitted upon public oceanfront beaches as follows:
[Amended 5-6-2008 by Ord. No. 1312; 4-16-2019 by Ord. No. 1545]
(a)
The walking of dogs under leash on the beach shall be permitted between
80th and 122nd streets with no time restrictions from the day after
Labor Day through and including the Thursday before Memorial Day.
(b)
The walking of dogs under leash on the beach in the evening is permitted
between 80th and 122nd street from 7:00 p.m. to sunset from the Friday
before Memorial Day through and including Labor Day.
(c)
Dogs are never permitted south of 127th Street, the Stone Harbor
Point Conservation Area.
I.
Kennels prohibited. No person shall at any time maintain
a kennel or kennels within the Borough limits of the Borough of Stone
Harbor except for the Borough-owned dog impounding area.
J.
Soiling and defilement by dogs. Unless immediate cleanup
and disposal is undertaken, no person owning, harboring, keeping,
walking, or in charge of any dog shall cause, suffer, permit or allow
such dog to defecate on any common thoroughfare, street, sidewalk,
passageway, road, bypath, play area, park or any place where people
congregate or walk, or upon any boardwalk, beaches or beachfront in
this Borough, or upon any public property whatsoever, or upon any
private property without the permission of the owner of the private
property in the last instance. Proper cleanup and disposal shall mean
that such person shall immediately remove all feces and droppings
deposited by such dog, which removal shall be in a sanitary manner
by shovel, container, disposal bag or some other similar device, and
said feces and droppings shall be removed by said person from the
aforesaid designated areas and disposed of by said person in a sanitary
manner, so as to prevent any noxious odors, attraction of vermin or
any other public health nuisance to neighbors. This subsection shall
not apply to or be enforced against blind persons.
K.
The Borough Council may, from time to time, designate by resolution
certain of the Second Avenue median islands as areas where pedestrians
and domesticated animals (e.g., pets) are prohibited. In connection
with this designation, the Borough Council shall provide a mechanism
for the placement of appropriate signage to inform the public of such
prohibition.
[Added 4-7-2015 by Ord. No. 1460[1]]
[1]
Editor’s Note: This ordinance also provided for the
redesignation of former Subsection K as Subsection L.
Where it has been determined by a physician
that a person has been bitten by a dog, such individual, or his parent
or guardian if he is a minor, shall immediately notify the police.
When the owner or keeper of any dog shall be notified by the police
that the dog has bitten any individual, the owner or keeper of the
dog shall comply with the following procedures:
The Council may, by proclamation, require all
dogs and cats to be quarantined during such period in each year that
may seem advisable to the Council.
[Amended 3-7-2006 by Ord. No. 1251]
The Council shall have the power to appoint
an Animal Control Officer whose duty it shall be to enforce the provisions
of this article. The Council shall also have the power to appoint
one or more persons, to be known as "dog catchers," who may impound
unlicensed dogs running at large in violation of the provisions of
this article, and who shall make a monthly and annual report to the
Council.
[Amended 3-7-2006 by Ord. No. 1251]
Except as provided in N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.19, anyone violating any section of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to the penalties set forth in Chapter 1, Article III, Penalty, of the Borough of Stone Harbor Code. Each day the violation continues shall constitute a separate offense.
